Termite control



Y July 15, 1958 G. L ALDRiDGE :a1-m.v

'PERMITE CONTROL Fileauay 19,1955

` INVENToRs @eo/"ge .A/dr/'dge d' Lee E. Chambers Attorney TERMITECoNTRoL George L. Aldridge and Lee E. Chambers, Virginia Beach, Va.

The present invention relates generally to structures and methods forpermanently maintaining structures free of termites.

There exists a frequently employed type of dwelling construction inwhich a slab of concrete is laid on the ground, as a foundation for thedwelling, the slab being usually provided with footings at and about itsedges. Termites may become established under the slab, and when cracksor openings develop in the slab these find their way into the dwelling.There is then no practical way of exterminating the termite coloniesbecause there is no access under the slab.

In accordance with the present invention a plurality of liquid conduitsis laid in a suitable pattern immediately under the slab, prior tolaying the latter. The conduits have access exteriorly of the dwelling,so that lluid or gas suitable for the extermination of termites may beforced into the conduits. The conduits are also provided with a largenumber of openings, at spaced points along the conduits under the slab,so that the fluid or gas may saturate the ground under the slab.

Periodical utilization of the conduit structure to force suitablechemicals into the ground under the slab assures that no termitecolonies may become established, or if they do, that they may be readilyexterminated.

The structure and method is relatively inexpensive and easy to apply andutilize, and provides excellent protection against termite infestation,at low initial cost, and for little maintenance cost.

It is, accordingly, a broad object of the present invention to provide anovel system for preventing termite infestation in dwellings, and toterminate such infestation should it occur.

lt is a more specific object of the invention to provide a conduitsystem under a slab on which is constructed a dwelling, for conductingiiuid fatal to termites to a large number of points under the slab, fromwhich the fluid may seep throughout the slab area, and saturate theground thereunder.

The above and still further features, objects, and advantages of thepresent invention will become apparent upon consideration of thefollowing detailed description of a specific embodiment of theinvention, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a View in plan of a layout of conduit under a dwelling,taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a view in section taken on the line 2 2 of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a view, partly in section, of a length duit such as employedin the system of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a View in section taken on the line 4--4 of Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged view in section showing a detail of the system.

In Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings, the reference numerals 1, 2,3, 4 denote, respectively, crosssections, viewed in plan, taken throughfootings of a of con- United States Patnf ICC concrete slab constructionbuilding. A concrete slab 5 rests on the footings 1, 2, 3, 4, adjacentits edges, andv overlies elsewhere the ground 6.

Immediately under the slab 5 may be provided one or more layers 7 ofmoisture sealing material, of any desired type, and under the latter arelaid one or more pipe assemblies, as 8, 9, 10, which are embedded incrushed rock, gravel, or coarse sand. The piping should be placed notmore than l below the concrete and should lie horizontal.

Each pipe assembly includes manifolds 11, 12., which communicateexteriorly of the footings, as Z, via galvanzed or other non-corrosivefemale connections, 13, of the same size as the manifold, installed atcharging points flush with the outside of the wall 2. These connectionsare plugged with a non-corrosive screw plug after the system has beencharged, and all piping units are preferably charged simultaneously atthe time of installation, and each three to five years thereafter. Thelatter timedepends on conditions individual to the specific situation,i. e. soil condition, chemical employed, evidence of infestation, andthe like.

The units, as 8, taken for example only, generally include a pair ofheaders or manifolds 15, 16, which lie adjacent the footings, and arejoined by laterals, as 17, 18, 19 In practice the separate units mayeach provide coverage for 280 to 40G square feet of area, which requirescharging with a pump pumping 18 G. P. M. at 40 p. s. i. A pump of thischaracter will provide adequate iluid to a 280 ft. unit, at fullpressure, in l0 seconds, and to a 400 ft. unit in l5 seconds,approximately.

In order to insure adequate protection at the footings, the piping mayextend vertically down, about and adjacent to all the footings, as at20, for a depth almost equal to that of the footings, and all insidewalls which extend down into the soil may be similarly treated, if theextension is greater than one foot.

The tubing employed is -1/2" copper tubing, but if desired the manifoldsmay be larger. The use of copper assures that the termite control systemof the present invention will last as long as the building it isdesigned to protect.

To provide egress from the tubing for the protective liquid the tubingis drilled with 5%),2 holes 21 on 24 centers, so that one hole existsfor each 8" of tubing. Of each set of three holes, one opens downwardlyand the remaining two in opposite directions laterally (see Figure 3),and this arrangement is generally followed in respect to vertical tubes20, the manifolds 66, however, being undrilled, so that pressure may beapplied to the laterals or branches 17, 18, 19,

While we have described and illustrated one specic embodiment of thepresent invention it will be clear that variations of the specificdetails of construction may be resorted to Without departing from thetrue spirit of the invention as dened in the appended claims.

What we claim is:

l. In the combination including a concrete slab adapted to support abuilding structure and a layer of relatively coarse material disposed onthe ground surface portion beneath said slab and supporting said slababove said ground surface portion, said coarse material and groundsurface portion being permeable to liquid insecticides, the improvementcomprising a plurality of tubes provided with a header, said tubeshaving downward extensions depending therefrom, said header, tubes andextensions of said tubes being arranged and adapted to distribute liquidinsecticide material through said coarse material and through the groundsurface portion immediately under and supporting said coarse material.

2. The combination according to claim 1, further com- 3 prisingfoundation walls supporting said slab, said extensions being arrangedadjacent and in spaced relation to the inner periphery of saidfoundation walls.

3. The combination in accordance with claim l, wherein said tubes areprovided with apertures and are disposed a maximum of two inches belowsaid slab, wherein some of said apertures are directed downwardly andother of said apertures are directed laterally in both directions,wherein adjacent ones of said Yapertures are separated by not more thantwo feet, wherein said tubes are parallel and wherein the spacingbetween said tubes, the diameters of said pipes and the size of saidapertures when taken in conjunction with the pressure under which theliquid is applied are such that the entire area encompassed by saidtubes and immediately under said slab is saturated with liquid.

4. The combination according to claim 3, wherein the spacing betweensaid tubes is two feet, and the diameter of said tubes is one-half inch.

References Cited in the Ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 299,425Schillinger May 27, 1884 728,088 Dillon May l2, 1903 1,422,831 Camp July18, 1922 1,603,110 Horten Oct. 12, 1926 1,646,113 Lanza Oct. 18, 1927 51,795,488 Hill Mar. 10, 1931 2,059,095 Fellman Oct. 27, 1936 2,246,731Hill June 24, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS 10 255,019 Switzerland Jan. 3, 1949OTHER REFERENCES C. A. Kofoid, A. C. Horner, M. Randall, W. B. Herms,and E. E. Bower Termites and Termite Control, page 421, published 1946by University of California Press, Berkeley, Calif.

Termites and Termite Control, by S. F. Light, A. C. Horner, MerleRandall, W. B. Herms, and E. E. Bowe, page 505, published 1946 byUniversity of Calif. Press, Berkeley, Calif.

